The Portland Art Museum and Northwest Film Center are pleased to announce an Artist Fund to provide immediate emergency assistance to visual, cinematic, and new media artists during the coronavirus pandemic and to support and sustain their creative work through the long-term recovery.
The Fund will distribute $100,000 to artists living in Oregon or Clark County, Washington, this summer. Phase one will provide 25 unrestricted, Re:Fresh Relief Grants of $2,000 to artists whose livelihoods have been severely affected during the pandemic. Applications will open July 7, with July 28 as the deadline to apply.
In a second phase, the Fund will provide 10 artists with Re:Imagine Sustainability Grants of $5,000 as they reimagine their practices and prepare for a post-COVID future. The application period opens July 7 and closes Aug. 11.
Grant recipients will be selected by members of PAM and NWFC staff and a panel of arts workers and community partners that is diverse and reflective of our region’s communities. More information and application forms are available on the PAM website.
In a third phase, Re:Imagining Our Work, PAM and NWFC will advance its commitment to artists who are less represented in the collection and in programs, specifically Black artists, film and mediamakers, and women. This phase will focus on creation of a new visiting artists program and further inclusion of artists’ voices through talks, podcasts, social media takeovers and other programming.
Funding for the Artist Fund is made possible by the Museum’s Art Gym endowment, established with support from the Robert and Mercedes Eichholz Foundation to continue the Art Gym’s mission to support Oregon artists, and from Tim and Mary Boyle. “Tim and I are pleased to support PAM’s Artist Fund because these grants will help artists immediately when they need help more than ever,” commented the Boyles.
“At this critical moment of change, it is crucial to the health of our arts ecosystem to distribute resources available to us and to join the important relief efforts of other local organizations in directly supporting artists,” said Brian Ferriso, Executive Director and Chief Curator of the Portland Art Museum and Northwest Film Center. “Artists are foundational to our arts ecosystem, so supporting artists now is investing in the future of our own institutions.”
Community support will help PAM and NWFC sustain efforts to collaborate and work with artists for future programs and exhibitions.
